The first episode of the Caleb Porter Crew Soccer Show was a hit! Our lovable band of heroes journeyed to a foreign land to test themselves against the region’s best, and they delivered a performance for the ages! Faces both new and old shined, and the newly human coach took his first steps as a man. Now, they travel back home for a rematch against the foreign foe. Will they extract revenge, or will our Crew be too much for them once again?!
We all really want to say "win by 2 or more" (which could be 4-5 based off last night) but do they play it safe and start a B-team and save guys for the home opener? We easily advance, but seeing how Esteli played yesterday makes me think we save our starters and not risk foolish injury. This could be a 2-0 or a 3-1 and every bit of that. It could be boring and maybe we get a PK at the end type of a game. There's no reason for us to go out gunning for a big win.
Do they believe in miracles? It's definitely the longest of long shots, but "that's why you play the game" as the saying goes. I'd even be tempted to consider sitting Eloy Room.
Absolutely. Bush is a pro and a veteran. Risking Room because you don't trust Bush means getting Bush was a stupid mistake. And I don't believe that anyone thinks that. Bush starts.
It was obvious Real Esteli thought their only chance was to hack and dangerously so. It's stupid to risk our stars when the series is already ours. Give the backups the game, protect the guys we will need to beat Philly. Who cares if we don't humiliate them a second time?
Can we sign O'Rourke to a one-game contract? Use some GAM, TAM, SAMIAM, or whatever to pay down the pro-rated salary...
I played golf with him last fall. He’s a scout for IU but still looked to be in playing shape. I would love to see him play again [emoji23]
Not that we care all that much, but Real Esteli has a league match tonight at 8. So, unlike us, they have a match in between the two CCL matches.
I dont know how much of a priority it is, but qualifying for the Open Cup this year is based off the teams that are top of the standings within the first 3 games this year. If we care about this whatsoever, that's even more incentive to be extra cautious with Esteli, and be as prepared as possible to dominate out the gate in the regular season.
Yep. I am all for the B team. Save maybe for A teamer's who did not play or start the first match (Molino, Afful, Wormgoor, Artur). And guys on a yellow would miss the Monterrey match with another (Mensah, Nagbe, Morris, + someone else). Any word on the injuries? Thought I heard Porter say Afful & Hairston will be available. And he thought Santos/Etienne would be fine. But no word on Vito, Nagbe, or Matan.
-----------------Bush-------------- Afful--Williams---Keita--Francis --------Kitchen----Morris----- Diaz------------Matan-----------Parente -------------------BWP-------------- Subs: 1) Hairston for Afful 2) Vito (or Lillard) for Josh 3) Artur for Morris 4) Berry for BWP 5) Molino for Parente If Matan cannot play, I either play 442 with Berry up top or play Parente as the #10 & start Molino/Etienne wide. I want as close to full strength as we can manage for Philly, who are only up a goal in CCL.
Matan hasn’t even practiced with the team yet. No way he runs the offense this Thursday. Maybe as a 60th minute sub but only after the game has been decided. Will be interesting to see who Porter runs out there.
You get at the difficulty in just saying 'play the B team.' Trouble is, some of those guys played last week, most notably Etienne, who not only played but probably won't be fit to play this week. Frankly, I'd start Artur, and give him a half. Sounds like he needs the minutes, and a 45 minute runaround on Thursday shouldn't affect his ability to play on Sunday. The glitchy new mls website lists Matan as being on the roster but 'unavailable,' whatever that means. Quarantine period? Anyway, even if he only becomes available two days before the match, there will be a real pressure for him to play, I'd think. Otherwise, who do you toss into the midfield? No one wants Lucas or Pedro to have to play. Morris? One odd item is that neither of our draft pick defenders have sign an MLS contract yet. If, say, Mallou did, Hairston could log some minutes in midfield instead of needing to spell Afful. I don't know, but the pickings are kinda slim roster-wise for Thursday.
College players that were drafted were given the chance to play in the spring college season. Ketchup started for OSU yesterday in their B1G quarterfinal and Mallou has played every game for Clemson this year. Certain high level picks elected to leave school and sign contracts but I think it’s only a handful.
It was really the only fair thing to do under the circumstances this year. Forcing kids to leave their teams and their teammates during a championship or tournament run was a visual even MLS wasn't keen on. One can only imagine the reaction if, say, NCAA football players were told they had to leave tOSU, Alabama, Clemson, etc in November.
And it also should be noted that lower division football *is* also being played right now. Saw a couple minutes of a game on ESPiN on Saturday and there was a listing of games in Saturday's Dogpatch.
I logged into my account manager today to get a sense how things might work tomorrow when the ticketing window opens. I know the FO has said that all season ticket holders would be "credited" (not refunded) for the matches that'll be played at HCS. Oddly enough, yesterday, a credit for my entire 2021 season ticket package posted to my account. The account also shows a bunch of per-match credits that posted on Feb. 2. Currently, it shows that I have zero tickets for the season. I think now might be a good time to email my rep. All I really care about immediately is that an opportunity buy tickets pops up at 1pm tomorrow. But my account, as it stands today, is mess. That's leaving out the whole "10% bonus credit" that I claimed when I bought tickets for this season, where the hell that is, and how I might someday be able to use it.